Reflection on the Recent Election

Reflection on the Recent Election
Politics makes part of human life complete as leaders who forms policies are elected from their political strength and promises. The recent election in the US affects me indirectly as far as the new President; Donald Trump is concerned. I feel that the results came as a surprise basing on the popular votes that the two candidates got. I expected Hillary Clinton to win but she could not make it since those who voted for her in the Electorate College did not rich the required number. The president-Elect promised during his campaigns that he would ban Islamic immigrants from coming to America (Qiu, N.p). He went further threatening to deport those Muslims and Africans who entered America through dubious means. My friends in campus are Muslims, and they stay close to our home. They have gone through a stressful period after the election results were announced that the new president was from the Republican Party. Although we are not sure if Trump will stick to his policies of deporting and banning Muslims from entering America, the families of my friends are in a dilemma of whether their lives are going to be the same as before or they are going to be sidelined. The President-elect links Islamic religion to the terror activities happening around the world, something that is not justifiable. Politics affect the way people live as the policies that the elected leaders come up with affect the citizens either positively or negatively.
Media is a communication tool that has a great influence in politics.

The opinion polls and presidential debates that are aired through the media help the politicians to prove their political strength and weakness as they try to explain their manifestos to the voters. Media reminds people of the history of the candidates, thus helping the voters to make the right decisions following their understanding of the political stands of each candidate (Udanor, Aneke and Ogbuokiri 487-496). Social media is another communication channel that is influential in politics. Donald Trump used the social media to illustrate how his competitor had failed to deliver to the Americans. He used his Twitter handle to talk about the personal email server that Hillary Clinton had used for personal gain and how she failed to protect the secrets of the country as the server was hacked. Many people followed this wave thus changing their mind if the madam candidate could make it as a new president. Social media also helps politicians to share their manifestos to the voters thus acting as a campaign forum. People can get informed through trending events on the social media especially the hashtag that is common on Twitter. Therefore, social media can be related to politics as it serves as a forum for linking the citizens and the politicians.
I can participate in politics by informing people about the qualities that they can consider in a person for them to vote such people. The awareness can also help the citizens understand their rights, and what they need to get from the government. I can set up an activist group to press for fair treatment of all races without discrimination. The protests will help to fight for the rights of the citizens as the government will have to listen to the people hence creating a forum for reconsidering the policies that the politicians have. For instance, the issue of deporting and banning Muslims from America is something that should be dealt with accordingly. I can help the affected parties by setting up peaceful demonstrations so that the government will not implement such a ruthless and discriminative policy in America.
Filmmakers and artists can play a major role in engaging political matters in their videos and music. Musicians can compose songs that can advocate for something that affects the country. For instance, the song which talked about abortion as a crime brings people to the awareness of the matter, thus making it a concern. Politicians get moved to set policies that will address the same issue. Similarly, when the filmmakers make documentaries about the way a person has contributed to the lives of others through their previous positions or welfare activities such as the creation of children’s homes, they influence the political popularity of such people. People can watch the documentary and find a reason to vote in such people into office so that they can serve them better as national leaders.
Art and visual culture are also meaningful in the political matters. Arts can help in the campaign period where the images and the writings on the posters of the candidates can be distributed among the citizens, hence communicating the agendas of the politician. Besides, Visual culture and arts such as statues of great leaders remind people of the great leaders and their contribution and dreams for the country. Aspiring leaders can view such arts and remember their leaders, hence coming up with policies that can make them great as the previous leaders. In precise, politics is influenced by many things which are common in human beings. It also affects the lives of people as political leaders represent them in the government when elected.
Works Cited
Qiu, Linda. “Donald Trump’s Top 10 Campaign Promises”. PolitiFact. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Udanor, Collins, Stephen Aneke, and Blessing Ogechi Ogbuokiri. “Determining Social Media Impact On The Politics Of Developing Countries Using Social Network Analytics”. Program 50.4 (2016): 481-507. Web.